International development and emergency services streams merge

The Salvation Army emergency services department and the international development department have merged to create a new stream – Emergency, Aid and Development.

BY SIMONE WORTHING

As The Salvation Army Australia restructures under its Organisation Design for Future Sustainability, some departments, teams and services are being streamlined and amalgamated into new entities.

The newly formed Emergency, Aid and Development stream is one of these.

This stream brings together The Salvation Army Emergency Services (SAES) and International Development (SAID) teams, both of which will continue to operate within Emergency, Aid, and Development.

Daryl Crowden, formerly General Manager, Salvation Army Emergency Services (SAES), is now General Manager, Emergency, Aid and Development, which sits under the Secretary for Mission, Lieut-Colonel Gregory Morgan.

Daryl Crowden is now General Manager, Emergency, Aid and Development, after the recent amalgamation of SAID and SAES.

 “The essence of what both teams do, the care we provide and the support we give each other, of course, is not going to change,” said Daryl. “The structure of the amalgamation will continue to be tweaked until the full redesign has been finalised and approved.

The Salvation Army Australia, through its Emergency Services (SAES) and International Development (SAID) teams, delivers compassionate, inclusive support to communities facing crisis and vulnerability.

“SAES provides emergency response and early-recovery services across Australia, offering food, aid and emotional care to disaster-affected individuals and first responders,” said Daryl.

“When the disaster is over, The Salvation Army steps up our services to reflect the medium and long-term needs of the community. Our focus is not just on the reconstruction of physical infrastructure, but on the restoration of physical, emotional, environmental and economic wellbeing. The Salvation Army Australia’s vast network of services means that SAES can draw on experts in a range of fields to assist the recovery journey.

“For The Salvation Army Australia, it’s a really good opportunity to tell a story from local to global and from global to local ...”

“SAID partners around the world strengthen civil society and improve wellbeing through locally led development in areas including water, food security and child rights.

“Together, they embody The Salvation Army’s mission to care for people and work for justice, ensuring individuals and communities – locally and globally – receive timely, respectful, and empowering support to thrive in the face of adversity.”

Daryl explained that there are some “synergies and benefits on both sides for each other” in the amalgamation.

These include the SAID staff who monitor program effectiveness – “essentially monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning which are critical to program effectiveness. We don’t have that capacity in SAES. Although their frameworks are international, I am hoping that we can use some of that capacity within SAES operations.

“We also have some finance capacity in SAID that we don’t have in SAES, and some operations functions within SAES that can support SAID as well.

“For The Salvation Army Australia, it’s a really good opportunity to tell a story from local to global and from global to local, as we learn some good lessons from international development expectations and integrate them into a domestic response. The potential for domestic resilience with this amalgamation is far greater than it was before.”